Sunday, April 24, 2011

Friday, April 22, 2011

Jeremy was born with a twisted body, a slow mind and a chronic, terminal illness that had been slowly killing him all his young life. Still, his parents had tried to give him as normal a life as possible and had sent him to St. Theresa's elementary school. At the age of 12, Jeremy was only in second grade, seemingly unable to learn.
His teacher, Doris Miller, often became exasperated with him. He would squirm in his seat, drool and make grunting noises. At other times, he spoke clearly and distinctly, as if a spot of light had penetrated the darkness of his brain. Most of the time, however, Jeremy irritated his teacher.

One day, she called his parents and asked them to come to St. Teresa's for a consultation. As the Foresters sat quietly in the empty classroom, Doris said to them, "Jeremy really belongs in a special school. It isn't fair to him to be with younger children who don't have learning problems. Why, there is a five-year gap between his age and that of the other students!" Mrs. Forrester cried softly into a tissue while her husband spoke. "Miss Miller," he said, "there is no school of that kind nearby. It would be a terrible shock for Jeremy if we had to take him out of this school. We know he really likes it here."

Doris sat for a long time after they left, staring at the snow outside the window. Its coldness seemed to seep into her soul. She wanted to sympathize with the Foresters. After all, their only child had a terminal illness. But it wasn't fair to keep him in her class. She had 18 other youngsters to teach and Jeremy was a distraction. Furthermore, he would never learn to read or write. Why spend any more time trying? As she pondered the situation, guilt washed over her. "Oh God," she said aloud, "here I am complaining when my problems are nothing compared with that poor family! Please help me to be more patient with Jeremy." From that day on, she tried hard to ignore Jeremy 's noises and his blank stares.

Then one day he limped to her desk, dragging his bad leg behind him. "I love you, Miss Miller," he exclaimed, loudly enough for the whole class to hear. The other children snickered, and Doris's face turned red. She stammered, "wh-why, that's very nice, Jeremy. Now please take your seat."

Spring came, and the children talked excitedly about the coming of Easter. Doris told them the story of Jesus, and then to emphasize the idea of new life springing forth, she gave each of the children a large plastic egg. "Now," she said to them "I want you to take this home and bring it back tomorrow with something inside that shows new life. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Miss Miller!" The children responded enthusiastically - all except for Jeremy. He just listened intently; his eyes never left her face. He did not even make his usual noises. Had he understood what she had said about Jesus' death and resurrection? Did he understand the assignment? Perhaps she should call his parents and explain the project to them.

That evening, Doris' kitchen sink stopped up. She called the landlord and waited an hour for him to come by and unclog it. After that, she still had to shop for groceries, iron a blouse and prepare a vocabulary test for the next day. She completely forgot about phoning Jeremy 's parents.

The next morning, 19 children came to school, laughing and talking as they placed their eggs in the large wicker basket on Miss Miller's desk. After they completed their math lesson, it was time to open the eggs. In the first egg, Doris found a flower. "Oh yes, a flower is certainly a sign of new life," she said. "When plants peek through the ground we know that spring is here. "A small girl in the first row waved her arms. "That's my egg, Miss Miller," she called out. The next egg contained a plastic butterfly, which looked very real. Doris held it up. "We all know that a caterpillar changes and turns into a beautiful butterfly. Yes, that is new life, too" little Judy smiled proudly and said, "Miss Miller, that one is mine."

Next Doris found a rock with moss on it. She explained that the moss, too, showed life. Billy spoke up from the back of the classroom. "My daddy helped me!" He beamed. Then Doris opened the fourth egg. She gasped. The egg was empty! Surely it must be Jeremy 's, she thought, and, of course, he did not understand her instructions. If only she had not forgotten to phone his parents. Because she did not want to embarrass him, she quietly set the egg aside and reached for another.

Suddenly Jeremy spoke up. "Miss Miller, aren't you going to talk about my egg?" Flustered, Doris replied, "but Jeremy - your egg is empty!" He looked into her eyes and said softly, "yes, but Jesus' tomb was empty too!" Time stopped. When she could speak again. Doris asked him, "Do you know why the tomb was empty?" "Oh yes!" Jeremy exclaimed. "Jesus was killed and put in there. Then his Father raised him up!" The recess bell rang. While the children excitedly ran out to the school yard, Doris cried. The cold inside her melted completely away.

Three months later Jeremy died. Those who paid their respects at the mortuary were surprised to see 19 eggs on top of his casket, ...................all of them empty.

Jesus is alive for evermore! Happy Resurrection Sunday to all my friends!

Monday, April 11, 2011

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. Ps 119:105 NIV

The word of God is very important in the life of a Christian. The verse above speaks volumes as to the purposes of the Bible for our daily lives. I like the Message Bible’s rendering of this verse:

By your words I can see where I'm going; they throw a beam of light on my dark path. Ps 119:105

​Several years ago, I was travelling home at night along Kelly Elliott. I began to notice that the headlights of my car seemed to be growing dim. I went a little further, and they went out all together and my car came to a stop. There I was on Kelly Elliott without power sitting in the dark without my car headlights. It was at that point that I realized how very important headlights are on a car. I could not see the road ahead of me. The road had become completely dark. Fortunately I could not move forward because to do so would have imperiled Debi and me and the couple riding with us.

​That is what this scripture is all about. If we are to navigate the paths and roadways of life we need the word of God to illumine the way. If not, we imperil ourselves and those following us.

​The Bible helps us navigate the challenges of life and assures us we will survive!

Friday, April 08, 2011

Rescue the perishing; don't hesitate to step in and help. Prov 24:11 TMB

What a great and dynamic Missions Conference we had last week! We do this on an annual basis. It is a highlight of our year. I don’t have these conferences for myself nor for the church's benefit; it is for our missionaries and those that are without Jesus! We are doing what we can to step in and help! A church having a mission’s conference shows missionaries that someone is behind them. It is a time to ‘renew our concern’ for them for yet another year. (Phil 4:10). It also shows our consistent effort to make this gospel of Jesus known in the entire world.

How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? Rom 10:14-15 NIV

That is why we do outreach globally as well as locally. We doing an Adopt-A-Block outreach for the month of April. Why? To show forth the love of Christ in a practical and tangible way that will affect lives.

Is it working?

Just this week we had a man and his son stop by the church. He had a box full of groceries that he wanted to donate to our food pantry. He said that he and his family had gone through a rough time last year and needed to rely upon the kindness of our church in our outreaches and food pantry. They wouldn’t have had food without us! He now is on food stamps as he is looking for a job and they had more groceries than they needed. So, he brought them here to help us and others!

About Me

PONDER-to weigh in the mind, to think about, reflect on.
"He chose his servant David, calling him from the sheep pens. He took David from tending the ewes and lambs and made him the shepherd of Jacob's descendants — God's own people, Israel. He cared for them with a true heart and led them with skillful hands." Ps 78:70-72 NLT